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WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars | January 27, 2013 WWE Royal Rumble 27/01/2013
Having already scored a massive non-title victory over WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No, the Team Rhodes Scholars combo of Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow will look to repeat their good fortune — this time, in title competition — when they face Kane & Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble.
Now in their fourth month as WWE Tag Team Champions, the oft-mutinous Kane & Daniel Bryan have seemingly found their groove, and thanks to a recent reevaluation by Dr. Shelby, their relationship appears less frayed than ever before. Nonetheless, has Team Hell No found its match in the sly pairing of Rhodes & Sandow, who initially aligned for the sole purpose of dethroning the champions?
Since returning from the disabled list in December 2012 with a healed shoulder and a trend-worthy flavor saver, Rhodes —who was put out of action by Kane in the first place— has joined “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” in reestablishing Team Rhodes Scholars as not only one of WWE’s most confident teams, but also as a serious threat to the championship gold. Though they narrowly lost a WWE Tag Team Title Match to Team Hell No on the Dec. 19 edition of WWE Main Event, Rhodes & Sandow avenged the setback in impressive fashion on the Jan. 7 Raw. After Bryan tweaked his knee in the heat of competition, Rhodes pounced on the vulnerability and pinned the “No!” man with the Cross Rhodes.
The ill will between the two teams was heightened further during Kane & Bryan’s visit to the WWE Universe’s favorite anger management specialist, Dr. Shelby, one week later. Guests of the doctor, Rhodes & Sandow were invited to the session to provoke Kane & Bryan as part of Dr. Shelby’s “exposure therapy.” Before the experiment could get under way, however, “The Essence of Mustachioed Magnificence” and “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” began heckling Dr. Shelby, questioning his credentials and going so far as to compare him to a poor man's Dr. Phil.
Faced with the annoying needling and overbearing arrogance of Rhodes & Sandow, even the mild-mannered Shelby lost his cool, prompting Kane & Bryan to find their true “happy place,” which appears to be a unified stance against Team Rhodes Scholars.
With the score in tag action ostensibly even, which alliance will prevail in the WWE Tag Team Championship rubber match at Royal Rumble? Will the endlessly talented, and obnoxious, Team Rhodes Scholars finally get its first taste of championship gold, or will Team Hell No — empowered by Dr. Shelby’s endorsement to let loose on Rhodes & Sandow — continue its winning ways? For tag team aficionados and facial hair fanatics alike, Royal Rumble’s WWE Tag Team Title Match has the potential to be a tide-changing affair. Don’t miss out on the tandem action when it takes place live on pay-per-view Sunday, Jan. 27, at 8 ET/5 PT.
